SUAMICO, WI (WTAQ) – Trustees for natural resources in the Fox River Natural Resource Damage Assessment announced $46 million in newly available settlement funds to further restore the Lower Fox River and Green Bay.
The announcement Thursday also said the money is coming from companies paying for the PCB clean-up of the Fox River.
“Through the collective efforts of our trustees, we’ve made positive changes in the Lower Fox River and Green Bay,” Charlie Wooley, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service deputy regional director, said in a statement. “It’s rewarding to note that the federally endangered piping plover has returned to the Cat Island Chain, a world-class walleye and musky fishery is developing and thousands of acres are now permanently preserved along the west shore of Green Bay.”
The wetlands project at Barkhausen is part of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment. A federal judge awarded a total of $106 million dollars to be set aside for restoration projects, in addition to the estimated $1 billion for the PCB clean-up effort.
The updated restoration plan includes a goal of creating more public access to recreational fishing in the river and on the bay. The plan also continues restoration of fish and wildlife habitat toward a goal of sustainable populations of native fish and wildlife species.
“In combination with the continuing removal of millions of cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediments from the Lower Fox River, these remediation and restoration efforts are making significant contributions to the recovery of this Great Lakes Area of Concern, and enhancing fish and wildlife habitat and resources across this important Great Lakes landscape,” said Eric Ebersberger, deputy administrator of the Environmental Management Division for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
The trustees are taking comments online, and at a public meeting in 2 weeks. The meeting will be held at the Green Bay Public Library on April 21st.
